At a recent meeting in Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh's Minister for IT and Human Resources pitched Visakhapatnam as a future hub for artificial intelligence and data facilities. The minister emphasized the state's drive to simplify business processes and pointed out big investments from recent years.
They discussed reforms in education and workforce development. A request came for insights on effective strategies from Maharashtra's tech and education sectors . Before this meeting, Lokesh met with Robin Khuda,CEO of AirTrunk,a key player in the hyperscale data center market. He urged AirTrunk to think about setting up in Visakhapatnam,citing the region’s favorable business climate and geographic advantages.
The city is gearing up for major projects, including Google AI Hub,Reliance AI Data Centre, and AdaniConneX. Lokesh laid out plans for 6 gigawatts of data center capacity,which would enhance Visakhapatnam's tech profile. Khuda responded positively, saying he would look over the proposals from Andhra Pradesh government.
Later, Lokesh took part in the 2026 India Conference hosted by Bank of America, joining a discussion titled "Future Readying India – The Andhra Experience." He covered Andhra Pradesh's investment strategy,its growth roadmap, and ongoing infrastructure projects,mentioning collaboration with the Central government .
